Melanochromis johannii
Encyclopedia
Melanochromis johannii, is a freshwater
fish
from the family
Cichlidae. The species is endemic to littoral zones on the east, Mozambique
coastline of Lake Malawi
, south of Chuanga. The species is popular in the fishkeeping
hobby and is frequently kept in cichlid
aquariums. In the aquarium trade, the fish is frequently known as the bluegray mbuna or electric blue johanni.
The species is highly sexually dimorphic. Females and juveniles are yellow. The coloration of males is a combination of blue to purple and black, with one blue line running across the forehead, over the top of the eye and along the body above the mid-line, a second line appears below the mid-line.
Freshwater
Fresh water is naturally occurring water on the Earth's surface in ice sheets, ice caps, glaciers, bogs, ponds, lakes, rivers and streams, and underground as groundwater in aquifers and underground streams. Fresh water is generally characterized by having low concentrations of dissolved salts and...
fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
from the family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Cichlidae. The species is endemic to littoral zones on the east, Mozambique
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
coastline of Lake Malawi
Lake Malawi
Lake Malawi , is an African Great Lake and the southernmost lake in the Great Rift Valley system of East Africa. This lake, the third largest in Africa and the eighth largest lake in the world, is located between Malawi, Mozambique, and Tanzania...
, south of Chuanga. The species is popular in the fishkeeping
Fishkeeping
Fishkeeping is a popular hobby concerned with keeping fish in a home aquarium or garden pond. There is also a fishkeeping industry, as a branch of agriculture.-Types of fishkeeping systems:...
hobby and is frequently kept in cichlid
Cichlid
Cichlids are fishes from the family Cichlidae in the order Perciformes. Cichlids are members of a group known as the Labroidei along with the wrasses , damselfish , and surfperches . This family is both large and diverse. At least 1,300 species have been scientifically described, making it one of...
aquariums. In the aquarium trade, the fish is frequently known as the bluegray mbuna or electric blue johanni.
The species is highly sexually dimorphic. Females and juveniles are yellow. The coloration of males is a combination of blue to purple and black, with one blue line running across the forehead, over the top of the eye and along the body above the mid-line, a second line appears below the mid-line.
Aquarium Life
This fish is an African Cichlid and prefers fresh water alkaline water with the PH of 7 to 9. It is a tropical fish and lives in temperatures from 22-28 degrees Celsius. The hardness of the water should be from 10-20. They are very aggressive and should only be kept with other similarly aggressive African cichlids, with one male to two or more females. It is not recommended to keep more than one male in the same tank, unless it is a large tank with lots of hiding places.See also
- CichlidCichlidCichlids are fishes from the family Cichlidae in the order Perciformes. Cichlids are members of a group known as the Labroidei along with the wrasses , damselfish , and surfperches . This family is both large and diverse. At least 1,300 species have been scientifically described, making it one of...
- MelanochromisMelanochromisMelanochromis is a genus of haplochromine cichlids endemic to Lake Malawi in Eastern Africa. It was established by Ethylwynn Trewavas in 1935. Ecologically, they belong to the rock-dwelling mbuna cichlids of Lake Malawi....
- MbunaMbunaMbuna is the common name for a large group of African cichlids from Lake Malawi. The name mbuna means "rockfish" in the language of the Tonga people of Malawi...
- HaplochromineHaplochromineThe haplochromine cichlids are a tribe of cichlids in subfamily Pseudocrenilabrinae called Haplochromini. This group includes the type genus plus a number of closely related genera such as Aulonocara, Astatotilapia, and Chilotilapia. They are endemic to eastern and southern Africa...
- List of freshwater aquarium fish species